Wii U General Discussion

[Rummy]

The latest NWR podcast were on about the Wifi Connection shutting down and were talking very much about what you have just stated. Things that have become industry standard when it comes to playing games online are always up in the air when it comes to Nintendo. I personally believe its one of the many reasons why they are struggling this generation.

 

They didn't build a loyal online userbase last gen, games being tied to a console rather than an account, lack of party chat feature, instant messaging being irrelevant without notifications, basic features such as private lobbies to play with friends, all of these are hurting them and it shows just how far behind they are with the rest of the industry in this regard.

 

The gripe for me, and I think a lot of others who've bought in, is that we were promised so much more. Did/could we see this coming? Yeah, I'm not wholly surprised by the Wii U's situation but I did expect it not to happen, because Nintendo promised me it wouldn't. That's the failure right there, and that's why the Wii U is burning so many.

 

And heck, even if it's not quite as good as local-multiplayer, it's still an added extra that would get miles more value out of the game and attract a lot more people.

 

Without keeping it too much on other systems point - I think this is an important thing to consider. The current titles on other systems with all their online currently give people much more value - you can't get your mates round every night for a game of Nintendoland but you CAN get online for a game of Halo or so if you wanted. People won't mind as much that the old servers/games have gone down - because they'll feel they got enough out of it. I've possibly played more of Halo Reach+4 combined than I have on my entire Wii U across all its games.

 

Again, this is why the Wifi connection shutdown stings - it's far too early to happen. Some people haven't gotten as much as they'd like out of their games. Compare it to PS3 and 360's online services that are still thriving very well and it's absolutely shocking it's even happening.

[Clownferret]

considering there are 100 million Wii's out there and only 6 million Wii U's it's a disgrace to shut down the Wii servers at this point in time. If the majority of people had upgraded to Wii U I could swallow it. It almost seems that they are doing this to force people to buy a Wii U.

I hate EA for doing this kind of shit all the time with their games and never thought Nintendo would sink the their dark arts.

 

I can only hope that the online usage for Wii is so low that this is reason they are switching them off. If not then this is a dark day for Nintendo.

[Serebii]

considering there are 100 million Wii's out there and only 6 million Wii U's it's a disgrace to shut down the Wii servers at this point in time. If the majority of people had upgraded to Wii U I could swallow it. It almost seems that they are doing this to force people to buy a Wii U.

I hate EA for doing this kind of shit all the time with their games and never thought Nintendo would sink the their dark arts.

 

I can only hope that the online usage for Wii is so low that this is reason they are switching them off. If not then this is a dark day for Nintendo.

It also seems to be due to the new owners of GameSpy, the company that ran the servers, being complete bastards.

[Goron_3]

@Serebii, I've played Nintendo Land a lot, mainly in multiplayer and it's been the focus on many gaming nights where my friends (who are non-gamers) fall in love with the games. Whilst the Luigi's Mansion, Animal Crossing and Mario Chase games wouldn't be the same with online (unless you all had headsets...), the Zelda and Metroid ones would be PERFECT with online play. Hell, the Metroid game is basically just a shooter; it would be a fantastic online title.

 

That said, we know the reason why that game didn't have online for some of the mini-games and that's because Nintendo had to pull staff and resource from a whole variety of teams to ensure the game made it out day 1. It's a miracle it made it to launch tbh. That's the reason why we won't ever see DLC for it too as most of the staff members have gone back to their original teams.

[Rummy]

I don't understand the need for a dichotomous approach/explanation - even if they others might NOT have been as good online as offline - why not give us the option of having both?

[Pestneb]

I don't understand the need for a dichotomous approach/explanation - even if they others might NOT have been as good online as offline - why not give us the option of having both?

 

It's extra effort that has to be diverted from other area's in the game, meaning they need more man hours = they need more sales to justify that added effort.

 

Having said that... While I agree local multiplayer > any net play, I would also concur with the general view any net play > no multiplayer when friends are unavailable.

 

I'd like to see Nintendo innovate online, bridge those barriers they see online...

[Rummy]

It's extra effort that has to be diverted from other area's in the game, meaning they need more man hours = they need more sales to justify that added effort.

 

Having said that... While I agree local multiplayer > any net play, I would also concur with the general view any net play > no multiplayer when friends are unavailable.

 

I'd like to see Nintendo innovate online, bridge those barriers they see online...

 

Again - diverted from other areas? Why is it a divert of draw from anything else? Why not just...do a bit more? How much is it really going to add in to the costs to add an online infrastructure, compared to everything else? The game exists already - it's just adding an online component. Sure, they might suck at doing that at first - but if they'd been better prepared and been doing it all these years they might actually be super-proficient at it now.

[Ashley]

I hate the oft-related justification that Nintendo shouldn't try harder because it would take more effort.

[Oxigen_Waste]

Maybe it's because I'm a huge board game nut and local multiplayer kinda sucks in comparison, but I won't really miss local multiplayer even if it IS gone.

[Pestneb]

Ugh.

Ok attempt to explain again

 

New Game.. arbitrary number - 100 man hours of work.

 

adding online will take 1 man hour of work.

 

Most likely this online would simply be added on to the 100, to make 101 man hours. great.

Now though, as a business, Nintendo have to be convinced that the 1 man hour of added effort will lead to increased sales, that exceed the cost of that 1 man hour. And really, with most Nintendo games, it's not the case, people buy the games regardless and then moan that feature x is missing. So they have little incentive to include those features.

 

I'm not saying this is an excuse, nor that I agree with it, but it is a possible reason. And perhaps low Wii U sales will push them to add more wanted features?

 

Also from a creative point of view they may not find online all that exciting or intriguing.

 

But I guess no one is really interested in why Nintendo's online offering is lacklustre, they just ask it as a rhetorical question, right?

[Sheikah]

Dear Nintendo,

 

It is worth the man hours for online features.

 

Faithfully,

Modern Day

[Josh64]

Ugh.

Ok attempt to explain again

 

New Game.. arbitrary number - 100 man hours of work.

 

adding online will take 1 man hour of work.

 

Most likely this online would simply be added on to the 100, to make 101 man hours. great.

Now though, as a business, Nintendo have to be convinced that the 1 man hour of added effort will lead to increased sales, that exceed the cost of that 1 man hour. And really, with most Nintendo games, it's not the case, people buy the games regardless and then moan that feature x is missing. So they have little incentive to include those features.

 

I'm not saying this is an excuse, nor that I agree with it, but it is a possible reason. And perhaps low Wii U sales will push them to add more wanted features?

 

Also from a creative point of view they may not find online all that exciting or intriguing.

 

But I guess no one is really interested in why Nintendo's online offering is lacklustre, they just ask it as a rhetorical question, right?

 

That certainly isn't the case now, as you said! But for some reason, even with low sales, I can't see things changing... other than with Mario Kart.

 

That's another thing that annoys me, they're so inconsistent. Mario Kart online isn't incredible, but it's certainly pretty good, especially by Nintendo standards, so as a company they should look to Mario Kart and make that the STANDARD that all multiplayer Wii U games follow.

[Ashley]

Has there been a Wii U Nintendo-published game that has multiplayer online? Can't recall, but I am tired right now.

[Josh64]

I actually can't think of a single one, a year and a half in! Shocking.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I know, but it's a bit hypocritical to criticise Nintendo for it and not the others when they're doing much the same.

 

N64 to Gamecube and SNES to N64 are among the greatest generational leaps ever. Quite probably the greatest we'll ever have.

 

I disagree though. I feel the lighting etc. in NintendoLand was spectacular and truly showed a generational leap while keeping the art style they set.

 

I pick up on Nintendo for it as they are the ones I still go to for my gaming fix. If I was a Sony fan, I'd slate them for it, too. I don't pay enough attention to the PS3/4 360/One to say for certain if the others are guilty or not.

 

Nintendoland does look good, but the art style is also very, very similar to what you would have seen on the Wii. Yeah, it's prettier, but it almost seems like the same but nicer looking, without being all that unique. I like Nintendoland, but I don't love it as I did Wii Sports, Luigi's Mansion or Super Mario 64. To me, it feels like it had potential to be a killer title, whereas in reality it isn't.

 

For a lot of games, I agree. If they manage to work out the latency issues, then NSMBU, 3D World etc. would be awesome online. However, the concept of NintendoLand doesn't lend itself to online multiplayer. It doesn't fit the concept.

 

It's because it was used to try and showcase the wonders of the GamePad, not the wonders of the online infrastructure. Nintendo is trying to sell the entire console, not just the online. As I said before, NintendoLand doesn't really lend itself. It'd lose a good part of it

 

I disagree, I think quite a lot of what was achieved on Nintendoland could have been achieved online. Perhaps it would have been trickier for one or two games, but I do believe it's doable. Even then, surely there would have been a better way to showcase the GamePad's features AND show off the online capabilities of the Wii U in one swoop. Why not a racer, for example?

 

Hypocritical was a poor choice of words. Apologies @Fierce_LiNk

 

No apologies needed as I didn't take offence. It seemed like a good discussion, to me.

 

Ugh.

Ok attempt to explain again

 

New Game.. arbitrary number - 100 man hours of work.

 

adding online will take 1 man hour of work.

 

Most likely this online would simply be added on to the 100, to make 101 man hours. great.

Now though, as a business, Nintendo have to be convinced that the 1 man hour of added effort will lead to increased sales, that exceed the cost of that 1 man hour. And really, with most Nintendo games, it's not the case, people buy the games regardless and then moan that feature x is missing. So they have little incentive to include those features.

 

I'm not saying this is an excuse, nor that I agree with it, but it is a possible reason. And perhaps low Wii U sales will push them to add more wanted features?

 

Also from a creative point of view they may not find online all that exciting or intriguing.

 

But I guess no one is really interested in why Nintendo's online offering is lacklustre, they just ask it as a rhetorical question, right?

 

The problem with this view is that it alludes to the fact that Nintendo regard online as an extra feature, rather than something which is standard to the majority of their games. This is a huge issue that I have with them and one that many have had for years now.

 

I do understand that it'll cost money and resources, but they've also been receiving negative press about this for years. Maybe they should give the gamers what they want, instead of what they think that they want?

[Sheikah]

The thing is, online can bring in sales to pay for those man hours needed to put in online features. Phantasy Star Online on gamecube - how many bought that to play with friends? Or saw a friend playing it and bought it to play with them too with their own personal character?

 

You play locally and that's one game sold for up to four people to play, with a tiny section of screen each. You have multiplayer and your friends might buy it to play online with you each with a nice big screen. Several game sales.

[Pestneb]

The problem with this view is that it alludes to the fact that Nintendo regard online as an extra feature, rather than something which is standard to the majority of their games. This is a huge issue that I have with them and one that many have had for years now.

 

I do understand that it'll cost money and resources, but they've also been receiving negative press about this for years. Maybe they should give the gamers what they want, instead of what they think that they want?

 

the problem is with my view, not necessarily Nintendo then?

 

Second point, I agree, with the Wii U maybe they will finally turn that corner.

Hopefully these one off expenses will be linked to online development? we can but hope...

[Retro_Link]

Does Sonic Racing Transformed on the Wii U have voice chat and all the online features you'd ask from a racer? If it does, then there's no excuse for Mario Kart given that they're aimed at the same audience.

[Fused King]

Ah, that beautiful word 'hope' we've all been using for so long.

 

NINTENDO either shits on hope or gives you something that leapfrogs it.

[Hero-of-Time]

Does Sonic Racing Transformed on the Wii U have voice chat and all the online features you'd ask from a racer? If it does, then there's no excuse for Mario Kart given that they're aimed at the same audience.

 

It doesn't have voice chat, which is why I wanted party chat at the OS level, for when developers can't be bothered to include it.

[Retro_Link]

Oh yeah I remember that being an issue for people now. Was it in the other console version.

[Hero-of-Time]

Oh yeah I remember that being an issue for people now. Was it in the other console version.

 

Indeed it was.

[Cube]

Has there been a Wii U Nintendo-published game that has multiplayer online? Can't recall, but I am tired right now.

 

Wii Sports HD had a functional but terribly designed online multiplayer.

[Retro_Link]

Indeed it was.

So yeah, there really is no excuse then, both games are going after the same audience, it's only Nintendo saying it can't have those features.

[Hero-of-Time]

So yeah, there really is no excuse then, both games are going after the same audience, it's only Nintendo saying it can't have those features.

 

Apparently Sega/Sumo couldn't get voice chat into the game before launch. I thought they may have patched it in after launch but it never showed up.